Team members at Everything Dinosaur have spotted frogs in the office pond. This is the first time this year (2023) that the amphibians have been recorded. The pond has been recently cleaned, lots of pond weed and other plants have been removed. Pebbles have been added to one side of the small pond to make it easier for small animals to enter the pond and for birds to bathe.

In the photograph (below), the group of frogs are in a “knot”, located in the shallows at the edge of the pond.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Rana temporaria

The frogs are Common frogs (Rana temporaria). The name is a bit of a misnomer as frogs are becoming less common in the British countryside. Small ponds are a vital resource for wildlife and this morning we spotted a “knot” of frogs, possibly three frogs altogether. No frogspawn was spotted, perhaps this was a group of over enthusiastic males, fighting each other prior to the arrival of a female.

Frogs in the Office Pond

Although the winter has been quite mild, it is still a little early to expect frogspawn. In 2022, the first frogspawn in the office pond was spotted on the 2nd of March.

To read about the March 2022, frogspawn discovery: Frogspawn in the Office Pond (2022).

A spokesperson from Everything Dinosaur commented:

“We had stored some rainwater over the autumn which we used to top up the water level in the pond. We have removed a lot of the weed which was choking the pond and tidied up the area in the hope that we could attract more wildlife including frogs. Perhaps we might even see a newt or two this year.”